How a salute meant as 'just a joke' turns to yolk

WELL hel-lo, sailor. When Kevin Rudd playfully saluted US
president George Bush across a crowded room at the NATO summit, the
only thing missing was a saucy wink.

It's hard to imagine John Howard ever indulging in such a
flirtatious display with his high-powered conservative buddy, and
as for Paul Keating, well, his penchant seemed to be for salutes of
the two-fingered kind  metaphorically speaking, of
course.

But there it was: footage of an Australian PM paying homage to
the leader of the free world with a crisp cut of the hand from his
brow. Yes, sir, indeedy. Asked about the gesture later, Mr Rudd
played it down  "just a joke", he said.

"I was just saying hi to the President of the United States. I
was with him the other day, so I went over and had a chat with
him," he explained. But then came the clincher. Mr Rudd said he and
Mr Bush had been "doing something similar the other day". The mind
boggles.

Back at home, the condemnation was swift and savage.

Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson slammed the salute as "conduct
unbecoming of an Australian prime minister".

"Mr Rudd appears to conduct himself in one manner when he thinks
the television is upon him and another when it is not," he
charged.

Pressed on why the gesture was unbecoming, Dr Nelson argued it
had undermined the image of Australia in the world. "Well,
Australia is a confident, outward-looking country after more than
10 years of strong foreign policy development, and we need a strong
prime minister to represent our very best interests throughout the
world."

Greens Leader Bob Brown was also unimpressed, accusing Mr Rudd
of belittling Australia and being subservient. "There is a streak
of John Howard's 'deputy sheriff' in Kevin Rudd's slip-up," he
said. "We are not the 51st state of the United States of America
and Mr Rudd's salute carried a subservient connotation many
Australians won't like."